The Alleyman returns with THREE brand new decks as one-time printings: the Alleyway Tarot, Oracle of Secrets, and Oracle of Play.
Latest Updates from Our Project:
Pieces of the Alley, Alive! | Upcoming Shipping | Next Publishing Goblin Projects!
5 months ago
– Tue, Feb 20, 2024 at 04:35:35 PM
Hello alley friends!
Pieces of the Alley, Alive!
First off, I have been waiting till today because I knew I was getting some items today! So let's take a look at some of the goodies that came in.
The three bags, and (most) of their items! The Arcade bag (Tulsa) is missing its alleyman miniature and dice, as those weren't ready when this set of items came over to the US. But as I understand those are in production. But you can see the bag itself and its tokens, and they look great! The First & Half Bank (Des Moines Findings) zipper bag is fantastic, and has its tarot cloth, moth charm, fake teeth, and three unique coins all together. They're super great quality, and I'm excited about it. Then the Alley Movers jersey string bag (Longview) includes its purple candle, random charms, and the 4 prong key on chain!
Here's a closer look at the tokens, coins, and the key! This is the first time I think I've shared the key at all, so that's pretty fun. Check the video for some more angles on the trinkets, but they are awesome!
If you didn't get any of the add-on bags, now is a good time to go check that out in the backerkit survey, ask me (by email at [email protected] or message here on KS) to unlock your survey. We are locking for sure March 1st!
Upcoming Shipping
I was told 4 days ago that more accurate shipping and fulfillment rates were going to be ready shortly. I think that should mean we'll be assigning shipping rates to people's orders next week. I will of course put out an update when that's going live to let people know and give final timeline for locking and shipping, as well as how the process of paying will work. But as of start of this month I was told we're still on track for April shipping/arriving dates.
Which is just to say, this is all about to be totally real and in our hands in just 2 months! (I was told start of month that decks were already being made! It's so real and exciting)
Next Publishing Goblin Projects
I wanted to wait to launch the Normal Tarot until April, when at least the Alleyway Oracles will be shipping, or partially arrived. Unfortunately, finances dictate the pace of business, and if I want to keep paying my contracted helpers on various upcoming projects, we have to launch now. While New Titan will be our manufacturer and fulfilment for the Normal Tarot, we won't actually be going to manufacturing on that until later this year, so the slight campaign overlap won't delay the Alleyway Oracles in any way whatsoever. I appreciate your understanding on that.
The Return of the Normal Tarot will see the 3rd edition in full color, with beautiful work from Ezra Kimbell, the artist on the Oracle Dice's cover and Lords cards! We are also re-printing the 2nd edition in Gold and Silver foils, and the original edition in black and white.
It'll be a very small project that I will be fulfilling myself from home. I've been tinkering with the designs, but they're going to be very cool little pins! You can see some of what I'm working on below. There will be little 3-"card" sets, a larger alleyman pin or two, and a Wandering Oracle pin from this project.
So a busy March for sure! And of course, the project that has eaten all my money for 3 years now, Confluence, is going live October at the end of the year. But that's a roleplaying game, so I'll bother people on games projects about that one. : )
And that's all for now, my friends!
Talk hopefully in a week or so!
7DA
your pub gob
January Update! | Shipping Timeline | Extended Pre-Orders
7 months ago
– Fri, Jan 12, 2024 at 05:00:24 PM
Hello friends!
So we have an update on production!
The Timeline
As of now, we are in the midst of producing everything. We had some issues with the boxes for the decks but it was sorted and the decks were already in production while we sorted that out. We've had a slight delay but not much of one-- instead of having all the things done by mid January (the next week), we're going to need another couple weeks. Items will be finished in production by end of January.
With the Chinese holiday in February, we will then finish packing up the add-on bags with all their items end of February, then a week picking and packing US and Canadian rewards and shipping the container out mid March, which would arrive in the US start of April and ship out then. So ultimately we are still mostly set on people having things in hand by about mid April.
Locking Addresses
I was ready to lock addresses here in January, but it seems we won't need to for a bit yet.
For US and Canadian backers, your address will be locked in on March 1st.
For International backers outside the US and Canada, we will lock in on March 15th.
That's the official dates we will lock in addresses. Bear in mind we will be adding shipping costs to people's orders then in start of February, and you will have to pay your shipping cost by the date your address is locked to get your items to ship to you in the first wave of shipments. You will then have limited time to get your shipping paid and address in, as per the terms and conditions on the campaign page:
Fulfillmentand Survey Deadline Once the first wave of backer items has been sent out around the world for people who get their surveys and shipping charges in on time*, remaining backers will have 30 moredays to complete surveys to then receive their rewards. Any who do not dosoin that time forfeit their rewards, and funds they paid into the project are considered donations to the project. As noted in refunds, no refunds will be made at thattime for people who do not get their surveys in.
If we hit our timeline of shipping out in late March/early April, that means we will set that date for end of April/early May. It will be decided definitively when our shipping date approaches, and shared in the update. Please stay up to date! : )
Wood Boxes Later
If you got the fancy wooden box, that will take more time to be manufactured and get shipped, so they will be shipped separately. I obviously have no interest in charging you extra shipping at a later date, so I'll chat with our shipping team about folding the cost into the initial shipping charge and see if we can keep that extra cost low for people, no matter where in the world you are.
While I was recording my video for the update I got an email back saying that people won't be charge extra shipping. We're gonna cover it. Yay.
Extending Pre-Orders
Since we aren't locking addresses until March, I'm extending pre-orders to February 29th. This is just for people who missed the Kickstarter. If you want to add items to your pre-existing pledge, reach out to Backerkit support and they can assist you! Or email me at [email protected] and I can unlock your order.
And that's all for now! I'm asking if we can get a set of everything sent my way sooner than later (in Jan/Feb) so I can share all the goodies in a super big fun post! And before the pre-orders close! : )
ZOETROPE
And of course, ZOETROPE is going on right now. Just wanted to mention it. Time travel roleplaying run on cards, and we revealed the box art just now! Pop over if you want to support, we're doing great with the stretch goals but could use your help to reach the next one. : )
Talk again soon friends,
7DA
your pub gob
Final Moments for Pre-Orders | The Timeline as we go into Production! | Happy Solstice!
7 months ago
– Thu, Dec 21, 2023 at 12:31:25 PM
First off, happy Solstice! A very auspicious time to share some news.
A good note that if anyone in your life wanted a copy of any of the decks on here, now is the time. I will be closing the pre-order page when January starts. Pre-Order page is here!
If you needed to adjust anything in your carts, now is also the time. We locked in our totals for all items already and are moving to manufacturing now.
Production Numbers!
And for those curious, just a few numbers! Last time on the Alleyman's Tarot, we sold 25,000+ decks on the Kickstarter, and ordered 40,000 to be made total. We felt that moving 25,000 in a single month meant we could easily move the remaining 15,000 over the rest of that year, and it would be out of production and still feel special and limited edition. We were so wrong, and still have many today. It's still a one-time-printing, but the power of Kickstarter and its limited-time feeling really sold more than we can passively on a site, and we've learned from that.
So for this project, we're sticking to numbers much closer. We'll still have some to sell through 2024, but we're a lot more likely to run out this time in 2024.
As of Oct 31st (a few pre-orders have come in since), we had:
Alleyway Tarot - 4645 claimed, so we're making 6000.
Oracle of Play - 4385 claimed, so we're making 6000.
Oracle of Secrets - 4599 claimed, so we're making 6000.
Astrology Booster - 3357 claimed, so we're making 4500.
Podcast Booster - 2751 claimed, so we're making 4000.
The other items are not bound by a one-time production (the add-on bags, alleyman statues, etc), but we likewise aren't producing much more than was ordered. Also feel it might be hard to sell the add-on bags beyond the decks haha, so they're not planned to last forever, or be a mainstay item in the Pub Gob repertoire.
Production Timeline!
There's just a single item that we're not 100% sure on and are getting samples still, and it's the 4-pronged key in the Oracle of Secrets's add-on bag. We have a manufacturer game for it who is sending a sample to our people now, but it's been a slog. We thought we had someone at the start but they fell through.
Everything else is moving on, and we should be done with production mid January, including the key. Though I did pare down the number of items on the campaign, the add-on bags still have to be assembled together, so it will take a couple weeks to get those bags all assembled before orders can begin to be assembled.
Our plans are, considering the Chinese holiday in February, to ship US/Canadian orders from China late February or the start of March. It will take 2-3 weeks for the ship to arrive to port, then in late March or the first weeks of April, we'll be shipping to your doors. International orders will of course be sent out during that time when the US/Canada orders are crossing the sea.
So by the end of April, the Alleyway Oracles should be in our hands! (People with touched by the alleyman decks, and hand painted statues, will of course be waiting a bit longer, as I have to get the items first then mess with your stuff and get it your way.)
Weestimated delivery to be March, and appears we're off by a month. As Kickstarters go, and especially considering the Alleymans took almost a full year longer to completely finish, I think that's still bueno. If any hiccups occur, you'll all be the first to know.
Shipping!
This timeline does mean that I will be inputting shipping costs to people's orders in January/start of Feb at the latest. A reminder that you will be charged shipping on Backerkit, and that you have a timetable to get your charge taken care of.
There was a whole terms and conditions section on the campaign page, but it sums up to this: We're already past the point of offering refunds on this project. To get your items, you have to pay your shipping cost. If you see it and you decide it's too much and don't pay, or never update a failed card, or never get your package but we sent tracking and you don't followup for 3+ months, there will be no chance for refunds.
I will put out an update when shipping charges go live, and reminders for people to get it taken care of in time, as well as the due dates as they come up. So please follow along with the next updates! They'll be very important.
ZOETROPE and The Return of the Normal Tarot
January 4th, I'm launching ZOETROPE! Zoetrope will be the followup to What We Possess, containing all the same items (plus the Zoetrope expansion), but the campaign images and text will all focus Zoetrope. Anyone who pledged to both will have their orders combined for shipping, so no worries about that. I realized I won't have room for ZOETROPE to have a project later in 2024, so we're doing it now. It's basically just What We Possess stretched out for another 30 days, but I think it'll be worth it to give ZOETROPE its well-deserved spotlight.
Zoetrope is a time-travel rent-a-cop game where you tell a story with your friends using cards to direct what your characters can do. It's roleplaying, but made for ease-of-play. Ideal for parties and one-night sessions, and for improv games or practice.
But that's the games side of Pub Gob, and y'all are more likely to be excited for the Return of the Normal Tarot!
The project will launch early 2024, and will feature an all-new, full color edition of the Normal Tarot, as well as reprints of the 1st and 2nd edition versions of the deck. It will be the final edition of the deck as the Caretaker and I both move on to new projects overall. Ezra K. is doing amazing on this new edition, and I'm excited to restock old editions of the deck to offer in the future.
Iwould like to wait until April to launch itso the Alleyway Oracles has shipped out, but depending on how funds shake out, it may need to launch in March. I'll keep everyone up to date as it happens, but many people beyond myself rely on Pub Gob for their paycheck and I have to keep money coming in to facilitate that!
And in October 2024, Confluence: the Living Archive will be coming to crowdfunding. I'm really excited about this one, it's been over 2 1/2 years in the making with a team of amazing people, and 14 years ago that I began work in different ways myself on this. This TTRPG will feature in-world Atlases you can explore, chock full of notes and ephemera from people in the world who have drawn in it, stuck in letters, flyers, tickets, and more.
Alright friends, that's our final update for the year!
See you in January when we move to start charging shipping and get this project ever closer to our fingertips.
7DA
your pub gob
Small Victory! | Files all sent in
8 months ago
– Thu, Nov 30, 2023 at 02:36:27 PM
Hello friends!
I said I would put out an update when I get all my work done on the guidebooks. And today is that day, they have been exported and sent in to the printer. Unfortunately I also have COVID and feel like garbage. So some wins, some losses.
Otherwise, sets of the Oracle Dice will be available at PaxUnplugged at one of the Hit Point Press booths this weekend, if you happen to be in Philly or at PaxU. I won't be, on account of the illness.
Will ping again next month to let you know the more formal timeline now that we should be on manufacturing from here out. Got some other stuff to share, but I'll do that next time in a longer, formal update. Alright friends, see you for now!
7
(Almost) On Schedule! | Some Participant's Projects!
8 months ago
– Thu, Nov 16, 2023 at 10:44:02 AM
By my schedule, I should have things moving right now, right? Well, I almost do.
First off, say hello to our Tarot Cloth! This cloth will be on the same soft fabric we had on the Oracle Dice's reading cloth, which is so wonderful and plush. You get the cloth in the Des Moines Findings add-on bag.
Our Tarot Cloth
Oh, and not just the cloth, you also get a metal moth charm, some fake teeth (?!), and oh yes, there are three coins. I wanted to wait until I had samples in hand to share them, but I figure while we're waiting...
The Coins!
The coins are a TV and Cash Register, which I thought would be weird and fun, a fantasy coin with cutouts and clean designs, and then a Sun/Moon coin. The Moon side features a lobster, which is important to your Moon tarot cards of course, and the Sun side has a Sunflower in the radiant rays.
The TV Coin will be in antique copper, the Fantasy Coin in Antique Brass, and the Sun/Moon will be in Antique Nickle plating.
The Platings!
If you need to pop over and add the Des Moines Findings add-on bag to your order, ping Backerkit support today and get it added! You'll be running out of chances here soon, as I move to shut down pre-orders and lock people's orders for good in December. So if you have friends who wanted decks or items, get them over to the pre-order page now and get that done!
What was I supposed to be talking about? Oh yeah, the schedule!
By the end of today, I should have the print files to the manufacturers for everything but the guidebooks. This was supposed to happen yesterday, but it's been a little harder than I thought to get it all lined up. But a day late is better than a week or month. All I'm waiting on right now are 3 cards final files from people.
My work today is finishing the backs for my Alleyman collage card in the Podcast Booster and the Transgression card back for that same booster, and the Blanks Booster's card backs. So lots of card backs. Otherwise I just need to export my deck documents the way my printer prefers them. That's all very doable today.
And finally, by the 25th, my last duty is to turn in the guidebook inner page contents. This one might be a day or two late as well, it might be more of a lift than I can handle all at once. But I'll do my best!
I was going to post this update on the 26th, ostensibly when all my work on this is done, but I realized I'm leaving a couple projects by participants in this project in the dark if I do that! So here we are.
First off, we have just 48 hours left on the Bohemian Oracle by Bohemian Dragon. Their "NO!" card is featured in the Oracle of Secrets. Consider heading over and pledging to help reach that goal. It's just $7,300, I'm sure with some attention it can be reached!
Animations by ROBOTINA.It is an Italian-German co-production, born out of the partnership between Diego Tigrotto and Jorge theObscene, and will be shot in Berlin next spring.
The short film will tell the story of Onyx's journey into the world of Tarot and conscious sexuality, who will receive reading from the tarologist Rosa.
In order to keep us away from market logic and not to compromise on free expression, the project aims to be funded through the support of our networks.
That's why we started this campaign on Kickstarter.
Just like the Sex Positive Tarot, this will be a collaborative project, produced and directed by personalities from the Independent P*rn Film Festivals and Sex Positive Movement Circuit. It will be a non explicit movie, to be accessible to everyone, but we will include extra scenes for other audiences.
Starring Jamal Phoenix & Bishop Black;
Directed by Ben Berlin,Pina Brutal,Puck Ellingtonand JorgeTheObscene;
Produced by Diego Tigrotto and JorgeTheObscene;
in collaboration with Roxy Nova, Silvia Procopio aka Prox and Domiziana de Fulvio. Graphic Design and Social Media:Syrtha, Massimo di Feliceand Lao B. Music by HYENAZ andANAL.FABETS; Nail artist Texto Dallas
Okay friends, that's all for now! See you at the end of the month,
